Aberdeen midfielder Leighton Clarkson insists it is “not all doom and gloom” at Pittodrie despite crashing to a five-game winless slump.
After a record-breaking 11 game unbeaten start to the league campaign the Dons’ form has hit a bump in recent weeks.
Clarkson accepts the Reds now face a “test of character”.
A return of just three points from the last possible 15 have resulted in second-placed Aberdeen falling nine points behind league leaders Celtic, who hold a game in hand.
The Dons were level on points at the top of the table with Celtic after 11 games.
Some frustrated Aberdeen fans booed at half-time and full-time.
Clarkson admits the drop in form is disappointing but has called for some perspective as Aberdeen are second in the Premiership and their confidence remains intact.
He said: “We are still in a really good position so it’s not all doom and gloom.
“The spirit is still there but the quality has dipped in the last few games and we need to get that back.
“The confidence hasn’t gone, we just need to be more at it.
“The games we drew recently felt like losses even though we did get something out of them.
“But we felt (against St Johnstone) we really should have been coming away with three points.
“We had a lot of possession but it was all a bit slow when we need to punch the passes in and make them run around.”
Pittodrie ‘fear factor’ was missing
Aberdeen had a 100% record at Pittodrie with 11 wins from 11 matches in all competitions this season prior to recently losing 1-0 to Celtic in the Granite City.
Clarkson believes the fear factor the Dons had built for opposition teams at Pittodrie wasn’t there against the Perth Saints.
He said: “We spoke in the changing room before the game about getting the crowd going.
“For opposition players to come here, they should fear it.
“I don’t think St Johnstone feared it and that comes from us on the pitch not giving the fans enough to shout about.
“So there’s obviously still a lot we need to do.”
‘It’s a test of character’
Aberdeen are suffering their first setback in manager Jimmy Thelin’s three-year plan to bring sustained success to the club.
The Dons were nine points clear of third-placed Rangers but that gap has been slashed.
Clarkson said: “It’s a test of character because everything was going swimmingly for such a long time…then all of a sudden.
“It was lacklustre against St Johnstone.
“We had a lot of possession, but it was all a bit slow.
“We need to be punching the passes in and making the opposition work, making them turn around.
“There was not enough crosses into the box and we didn’t really play through the lines.
“We threw everything at it, but just couldn’t get enough shots away.”
‘We need to be bang at it at home’
Aberdeen trailed 1-0 at half-time to a goal from Makenzie Kirk.
Boss Thelin made three changes at the break and it paid off as substitute Duk played in Clarkson to level in the 56th minute.
Aberdeen, however, could not deliver a winner.
Clarkson said: “It was frustrating as we didn’t come out of the blocks in the first half and weren’t really at it.
“The gaffer made a couple of changes at half-time that brought a bit of life back into us.
“We managed to get the goal but we are disappointed not to work their keeper enough.
“I don’t know why that was as especially when we play teams at home we need to be bang at it.
“I was happy with the goal as I know I missed one the other night against Celtic.
“I didn’t sleep at night after that so it was good to score but I would have been more pleased with the three points.”
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